Thursday, November 24, 2011

Wai 262 - Mātauranga Māori

Since I have already
provided some comment on the Te Reo chapter of Ko Aotearoa Tēnei, which was released prior to the publication of
the complete report, I will continue my commentary by going straight on to
Chapter Six.

The sixth chapter of the
Waitangi Tribunal’s report on the Wai 262 inquiry is titled ‘When the Crown
Controls Mātauranga Māori’. This chapter
addresses government policy and practice across a range of agencies that are
responsible for the protection, preservation, and/or transmission of mātauranga
Māori (Māori knowledge). The Tribunal
considers the role of culture and heritage agencies (the Ministry for Culture
and Heritage, Creative New Zealand, the Museum of New Zealand – Te Papa Tongarewa,
Television New Zealand, Archives New Zealand, and the National Library);
education agencies (the Ministry of Education and the New Zealand
Qualifications Authority); research, science and technology agencies (the
Ministry of Research Science and Technology and major funding bodies such as
the Royal Society of New Zealand and the Health Research Council); and Te Puni
Kōkiri. The Tribunal notes that, for
each of these agencies, “mātauranga Māori is at the heart of what they do”.

The Tribunal’s analytical
framework is based on the central premise that the protection of mātauranga
Māori is a shared responsibility. That
is, the Crown has a clear obligation to protect mātauranga Māori under Article
2 of the Treaty and Māori, as kaitiaki of their own mātauranga, must also
provide leadership in this area. The
Tribunal notes that there are various considerations which must be balanced in
determining the most appropriate approach to the protection and management of
mātauranga Māori. For example, the
Tribunal notes that the practicalities of protecting the physical integrity of
fragile taonga may sometimes need to be balanced against the principle of
kaitiaki control. Similarly, rules to
protect kaitiaki control of access to iwi or hapū-based material held, perhaps,
by Archives New Zealand, should also take into account the effect that this may
have on distancing Māori from that mātauranga.

As in other parts of this
report, the Tribunal seeks then to lay down general principles that may be
applied to particular circumstances on a case-by-case basis. The key principles that the Tribunal suggests
ought to guide the management of mātauranga Māori are:

Crown co-ordination

appropriate prioritization

sufficient resourcing, and

shared objective setting.

In relation to the culture
and heritage agencies, the Tribunal finds that current levels of co-ordination
are insufficient, noting specific matters such as uncertainty of co-operation between TVNZ and Māori
Television over Māori programming, “an area where competition seems
counter-productive to the cause of preserving te reo and mātauranga
Māori”.

In the case of both the
culture and heritage agencies and the education agencies, the Tribunal finds
that much better engagement with Māori in these sectors is required. In relation to both sectors, the Tribunal recommends
formalizing partnerships between the relevant Crown agencies and Māori,
through, amongst other measures, the establishment of electoral colleges. In the case of the culture and heritage
sector, the Tribunal suggests that an electoral college might be comprised of
various Māori cultural groups (Toi Māori Aotearoa/Māori artists association, Te
Rōpū Whakahau/Māori librarians collective, Te Matatini Society, iwi
organisations, etc) who could appoint representatives to “sit at a partnership
table with the Crown”. The membership of
the proposed electoral college in the education sector might include the
Kōhanga National Trust, Te Rūnanganui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa, and Te Tau Ihu o Ngā
Wānanga. In both cases, the intention is
to establish a mechanism to facilitate true partnership between Māori and the
Crown in setting objectives in these sectors.

The Tribunal expresses
particular concern about the priority accorded to mātauranga Māori amongst the
research, science and technology agencies.
The Tribunal notes the Vision Mātauranga document which provides a
policy framework for the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology (now the
Ministry of Research, Science and Innovation) to promote mātauranga Māori in
the science sector. However, the
Tribunal points to the lack of emphasis on mātauranga Māori within the
Ministry’s planning and strategy documents and recommends that the science
sector agencies make mātauranga Māori a strategic priority in its own
right. The Tribunal also recommends the
establishment of a Māori purchase agent in the research and science sector to
“boost Māori research capacity and fund the preservation of mātauranga Māori
and research that explores the interface between mātauranga and modern
applications”.

The Tribunal makes a number of other specific
recommendations in each sector and also includes recommendations for Te Puni
Kōkiri to establish better mechanisms for partnership and shared
decision-making in areas directly concerned with mātauranga Māori. Overall, the Tribunal notes that while many
of the agencies working in this area have Māori advisory groups or similar,
there are very few instances in which Māori have real decision-making power. As in other parts of the report, the Tribunal
recommends that, for the Crown to act consistently with Treaty principles,
Crown agencies must “step up and create real forms of partnership with Māori
communities” and that the Crown must “adjust its mind-set and accept that it
represents Māori too”.

Ahi-kā-roa

Ahi-kā-roa literally means "the long-burning fires". It is a Māori concept that encapsulates the idea that decision-making authority and rights associated with land are maintained through the connection to that land and the fulfillment of obligations in relation to it.

About Me

I am of Ngāti Kahungunu and Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki descent. I am a lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Victoria University of Wellington. My primary research interests relate to the Treaty of Waitangi and indigenous legal traditions. Before joining the faculty in 2006, I worked in a number of different roles at the Waitangi Tribunal, Māori Land Court, and the Office of Treaty Settlements. I have recently completed a PhD through the University of Victoria, British Columbia. My dissertation is entitled 'The Treaty of Waitangi Settlement Process in Māori Legal History'. I am the Co-Editor of the Māori Law Review